How much internet do you need for IPTV? WiFi vs cable and glitches (2026)

This week a customer called me. “I have 200 Mbps, how come my TV keeps stuttering?” My first question: “Is your TV on WiFi?” Silence. “Yes… in the kitchen.” His router was in the living room, three walls and a stairwell away. That was the whole problem. Not his subscription, not the app, not the channels — the distance.

I have this conversation almost every week. That’s why this story: because at IPTV everything revolves around one thing, and that is not the number of channels.

First the short answer

For IPTV in HD you have minimum 10 Mbps necessary, for 4K you keep 25Mbps on, and just to be sure: 30 Mbps is fine for any household. Almost everyone has that nowadays.

But beware: it’s not about what’s on your contract, it’s about what arrives on your TV. And therein lies the problem — because the two are rarely the same. My client had 200 Mbps on paper and got maybe 8 on his kitchen TV.

The real question: what’s coming to your TV?

A speed test on your phone next to the router says nothing about your TV three rooms away. The only thing that matters: the speed on the device you are watching.

This is how you test it (takes 30 seconds):

1. Open a speed test on your TV (or on a telephone next to the TV). Download the app, or go to fast.com or speedtest.net in your TV browser.
2. Do the test again on your phone while standing next to the router.
3. Compare.

Do you see a big difference? Then your problem is between the router and your TV, not with your IPTV. And you can solve that without changing a single setting of your subscription.

WiFi or cable: the honest story

A cable is always better. No one who tells you otherwise knows anything. But a cable is not always possible — and fortunately it is not always necessary.

WiFi is fine if:

• your TV is within a few meters of the router;
• there are few walls in between;
• your TV is on the 5GHz network (not the 2.4GHz network that is shared by the entire neighborhood).

Cable is the solution if:

• your TV is far from the router (think: more than one wall);
• your house is full of other WiFi devices;
• you are watching 4K and the image occasionally jerks.

A 10-meter network cable costs ten euros. Once you’ve pulled that cable, you’ll never understand why you didn’t do it sooner. It’s the best IPTV accessory out there, and it’s not on any sales list.

Why 2.4GHz gives you stuttering

Without getting too technical: your router transmits on two frequencies. The 5GHz network is fast but cannot travel as far, the 2.4GHz network goes further but is slower and is shared by every neighbor. Is your TV automatically connected to 2.4GHz because that signal seemed “stronger”? Then you have chosen the slower path.

Check the WiFi settings of your TV to see which network it uses. Does it say something like “Home network_2.4”? Then manually connect it to the 5GHz network. Sometimes the network is called the same and the TV itself chooses the wrong band — then you can give the 2.4GHz band a different name in the router settings.

The top 5 people who say “IPTV is glitchy”.

1. TV on 2.4GHz WiFi — the number one cause. See above.
2. Router is in a cupboard — behind glass and metal your signal is destroyed. Put it out, a clear view of the living room works wonders.
3. The neighbor also streams — on 2.4GHz you share the same space. So that band again.
4. TV update in the background — your TV quietly downloads an update while you watch. Wait a moment, or manually set updates at a quiet time.
5. Outdated app — an app that hasn’t been updated for months can be messy. Check your TV’s app store.

What is surprisingly often not the cause: your IPTV provider. That sounds crazy to me, but it is true. Of course there are bad providers — we wrote about that before the story of that €5 subscription — but before you blame your provider: first run the speed test on the TV. In nine out of ten cases it is the connection, not the channels.

How much do you need?

A simple diagram, based on what it boils down to in practice:

Everything above that is a bonus but doesn’t solve anything. Anyone who has 200 Mbps and is still experiencing problems does not have a speed problem but a distance problem.

The honest advice

Problems with glitches? Go through this order and you are done in 90% of the cases:

1. Measure speed on the TV itself (not on your phone).
2. Under 10 Mbps? Pull the cable or move closer to the router.
3. Set TV to 5GHz if you use WiFi.
4. Remove the router from the cabinet.
5. Still having problems? Only then is it time to look at your provider.

For the full list of solutions, including settings per app, see here is the extensive buffer guide.

And do you just want to see how IPTV runs in your home, without paying anything first? Request the free test. Then we do it on your TV, your WiFi, your home — and only then you judge.

📱 Questions or a free test? Click on the Joinchat button at the bottom right